The Dark Lord's Shadow
by Thrushsong k'Varis
Summary: AU. Post-Second War with Voldemort. The Dark Lord's Shadow is ambushed and impersonated during a celebration of victory. How will Shadow prove his identity, as well as his superiority over the impostor?


**WARNINGS:** There is implied torture near the end of this fic (the paragraph with Voldemort talking to Bella in case you feel the need to skip the references). **This story contains slash.** Of the Shadow/Voldemort variety. Shadow is not an OC. I felt like being mysterious, but it's pretty obvious by the end who he is.

This is AU so there are several characters who are dead in cannon who are very much alive. Which includes most of the Death Eaters, so I won't bother listing them all.

The ~~LV~~ are scene breaks.

* * *

The celebration tonight was a bit much, in his opinion, as Lucius' re-election as minister was practically guaranteed. However, he was only the Dark Lord's Shadow, and had no desire to be involved with the Ministry in any way, shape, or form, unless absolutely necessary. He might be holding a bit of a grudge. He knew that this night's celebration was mainly an excuse for the Death Eaters to hold a party and brag about their success and standing with the Dark Lord.

Unfortunately, he was running late. The Dark Lord usually met him ten minutes or so before the start of any event like this, so that a proper entrance could be made. Shadow had been so distracted by the small box he'd left on the dresser that he was ducking through side passages, hoping to be at least close to on time. He had finally decided this morning that he would be going through with his plans, and most of his time getting ready had been spent mentally arguing with himself, rather than being productive. His indecision had been cut short as he'd realized he needed to leave for Malfoy Manor, _now_, if he had a hope of being on time. So he'd slid his gift in his left front trouser pocket, planning to pull it out while Voldemort was giving his opening speech, so that the man would see it clearly during the dinner.

As he made his way towards the doors where he would enter with the Dark Lord to begin the party, his musing was interrupted by a jet of spell-light flying past an inch from his ear. His instinctive duck and roll saved him from three more curses passing through where he had just stood. A glance around allowed Shadow to see that he was surrounded by no less than eight wizards, and as he desperately dodged the incoming curses; he mentally cursed the lack of cover or potential witness to this attack. As a stunning spell hit his back, his last thought was that Voldemort would likely be furious when Shadow was discovered to be missing.

~~LV~~

Shadow awoke in darkness, lying uncomfortably positioned on a hard floor. He shifted and gingerly pushed himself into a seated position, taking a few moments to stretch and flex limbs gone numb while he was unconscious. Somewhat surprised he hadn't been bound, he felt for his wand and portkeys, disappointed that his attacker's lack of sense hadn't extended to leaving them. Mentally debating whether the person who had dumped him here was deluded or just thoughtless, he began to determine where he was. After a few more moments of concentration than he usually needed (most likely due to the headache from being hit from multiple stunners) a small sphere of light appeared in his palm. He then proceeded to stare at the room (cupboard? closet?) in disbelief. It was completely empty, which made it marginally less likely someone would find him. However, there was a door on the wall to his left. A wooden door, with a _handle_ on the _inside_.

'Did they even plan this, or was whoever left me here completely delusional?' Shadow may not have been known to use wandless magic, but this was…strange. None of the current Death Eaters should be able to underestimate him this much; the war (which he had played a large part in fighting) had only ended five years ago. Shadow pulled himself to his feet, groaning as his muscles protested however long he'd been lying on the floor. Making his way slowly to the door, he absently tested the handle. And froze when it turned, and the door proceeded to open a crack. Why? Unless, for some reason they _wanted_ him to get out?

He was wandless, and now that he thought about it, his over-robes were gone, leaving him in his simple shirt and trousers (which, thankfully, still had his gift for Voldemort in his pocket). Was it possible someone (and Shadow had a suspicion who) was trying to impersonate him? His wand would be easily identifiable, the robes had been designed for him on Draco's orders ("the green enhances the color of your _eyes!"_ "You just want me in Slytherin colors." "It's only proper in your position."), and the three emergency portkeys had all been disguised as jewelry. With this (and the fact that the _bastard_ _Avery _who was likely behind this had been becoming increasingly annoying in his baiting) the idiot was probably planning for Shadow to reappear so that the idiot could 'prove Shadow was unworthy', or some such nonsense.

Mentally creating and discarding plans as he went, he cast a notice-me-not and made his way towards the ballroom's side entrance. He didn't want to be spotted until he could confirm at least some of his theories. Entering, Shadow swiftly scanned the room, noting that his impostor was dancing with Bella, and the Dark Lord was seated in his throne on the dais, speaking with Lucius and Narcissa. None of them were acting overtly suspicious, and the impostor (only Avery would be stupid enough to plan something like this) didn't even seem concerned. 'So, either the idiot is better than I thought, or Voldemort is waiting for an obvious mistake.'

As he continued to search the room, his eyes narrowed in calculation, seeing that Reg had brought his fallback gift into the hall. A week ago Shadow had noticed Voldemort seemed to suspect he was planning something, so he'd gotten the gift and left it where he knew the man would find it if he went looking for Shadow's plans. Regulus had been asked to bring that gift to the party (Shadow had wanted a backup plan in case his nerves got the better of him). Spotting Barty Crouch alone near the far wall, Shadow smirked as he made his way across the room to put his new plan in motion.

~~LV~~

"Barty, I need a favor."

"What do you need _now-"_ Barty turned and choked, wide-eyed, before glancing back across the hall. Shadow followed his gaze and saw Rodolphus talking to- oh, it was the impostor Shadow.

"Who are you?" Barty glowered at him.

"Really Barty? Have you been exchanging favors with someone I haven't heard about?" He smirked slightly as Barty spluttered and glared at him. Casting a glance at his impostor, Shadow continued, "Has Sev mentioned missing Polyjuice lately?"

Barty choked again, and Shadow grinned in satisfaction. Once recovered, Barty returned to glaring. "Even knowing more than you should, there's a major flaw in implying that Shadow was replaced by an impostor."

"Oh?"

"Shadow might seem mysterious, but no one can fool the Dark Lord. Especially concerning Shadow, who has been in sight for far longer than an hour."

"You of all people should know how easy that limit is to work around, Barty." The man had spent entire days Polyjuiced as Moody after all, and no-one had suspected a thing.

"That has no relevance, Shadow never carries a flask."

"Really Barty, think for a minute, you remember how and why I got the name Shadow?" His habit of fading into the background during meetings (or any time, really) and then re-appearing once everyone had forgotten his presence (he'd even made Sev jump once) was well-known.

Barty glared again, and snapped, "If he were an impostor, Our Lord would know."

Shadow's grin didn't fade; he knew he could rely on Barty to bring this to Voldemort. "In that case, I'll prove it."

"What?"

"I will prove to the Dark Lord—in front of everyone here if you wish—that I am no impostor. The Dark Lord knows I've been planning to present him with a gift tonight."

"Even if that's true—"

"Not finished," Satisfied that Barty wouldn't interrupt, Shadow continued, "You'll tell Lucius and Cissa that Shadow will be presenting the gift. They can even inform your impostor." Shadow smirked, "Your favor is to insure that they all, including the Dark Lord, know that an impostor will be presenting a gift as well. After the gifts have been presented, He will declare who is truly His Shadow."

Barty narrowed his eyes, calculatingly, "Whatever trick you have planned, reconsider it. The Dark Lord will see through it with ease."

Shadow gave him a bland smile, "Will you complete the favor?"

Barty frowned, turning to look at the impostor. Finally, he grunted, "Fine, I'll do it." By the time he turned around, Shadow had again vanished into the crowd.

~~LV~~

Lucius Malfoy gathered the attention of the Death Eaters to where he stood at the Dark Lord's left as he set off a loud bang from his wand. "I have been informed," he announced, "that the Dark Lord's Shadow wishes to present Our Lord with a gift."

Shadow slipped his left hand into his pocket as he stepped forward out of the crowd, dropping his notice-me-not charm as he spoke up, "There's a small problem with that announcement, Lucy."

Lucius merely looked at him, managing to convey 'You're the one who wanted it announced' and 'How in Salazar's name did you ruin your formal clothes already?' with a single lift of his eyebrow and a barely noticeable sneer.

Shadow smirked at him for a moment before his impostor pushed through to the dais, shouting, "He's a fake!"

Murmurs broke out through the crowd as they realized that there were now two Shadows on the dais in front of Voldemort.

"How odd," he responded lightly, "I wonder if you happen to have any proof of your accusation?"

The other's eyes narrowed, and he pulled a wand from his sleeve saying, "I'm sure you can recognize this?" The holly wand was held aloft and a shower of golden sparks sprayed from it (Shadow wondered wryly if the man could even cast a patronus, as that would have been much more identifiable).

"Any wizard can shoot sparks from a wand." Shadow fought back a smirk as the man's face visibly twitched in annoyance.

"I have been present here this entire night and none doubted me, surely you do not believe the Dark Lord can be fooled?" Shadow fought back his amusement for a moment (how many people tonight would tell him that?) before setting his plan in motion.

"Then, I propose a challenge." The man's eyes narrowed, but he didn't object, so Shadow continued, "Each of us will present our gifts, and he, "Shadow waved his right hand towards Voldemort's seat, "will then declare who is truly his Shadow."

A flash of triumph appeared in the impostor's eyes, and he nodded before turning to face Voldemort, "Is this challenge acceptable?"

Vodemort gazed at the two of them, measuring, letting the silence stretch before saying, "You may proceed." He looked at the impostor, "What gift will you give as your proof?"

Regulus and Barty stepped forward, handing a wrapped package to the fake Shadow, who accepted it and walked forward to present it to the still seated Dark Lord before stepping back respectfully. Voldemort took the gift and began unwrapping it, and Shadow thought he saw curiosity on the man's face. When the Parseltongue tome (written by Salazar himself, Shadow was still amazed he'd found it) was revealed, Voldemort stared at it for a moment before he stood and looked towards the impostor.

Sensing he was about to speak, Shadow interrupted, "You haven't seen my gift yet."

Voldemort's eyes narrowed at him, "I recognize this book, and only my Shadow would have given it to me."

"Of course you recognize it; I made sure to leave it in the study where you would find it easily." Seeing Voldemort's eyes widen slightly in surprise had Shadow fighting back a grin before he continued, "Though, using it as a decoy was Cissy's idea." As Shadow responded he brought his left hand out of his pocket and gestured lazily to his right where the Malfoys were gathered.

Voldemort's gaze followed the motion for a moment, before snapping back to fix on his hand. "You…"

Shadow didn't bother hiding his smug expression on seeing Voldemort's stunned disbelief. "See for yourself." He extended his hand towards Voldemort, wiggling his fingers so that the emeralds on his ring caught the light.

The man strode forward and gently took Shadow's hand, examining the ring intently. "When you didn't tell me your decision, I thought you'd had this returned to the vault."

Shadow blinked at him before responding, "This might be the first time you didn't assume I had a Gryffindork reaction." It wasn't until he'd finished that he realized Voldemort had switched to Parseltongue, and he had responded in kind. The expression that was slowly growing on Voldemort's face would probably look smug to anyone else, but Shadow could see the spark of true joy in his eyes.

"It seemed you've gained a new toy, Bella." Voldemort said as he nodded towards the fake Shadow. The woman cackled in delight, swiftly casting a restraining spell which caused the impostor to fall forward on his face. She then stepped forward, still cackling madly, and grabbed him by his hair to begin dragging him out of the hall. Voldemort ignored the impostor's protests and pleas, merely signaling Bellatrix's husband to follow her and ensure that she didn't kill the man before the full extent of his treachery was uncovered. Rodolphus stepped forward and silenced the pretender as the gathered crowd parted for Bellatrix and her captive.

Gently pulling Shadow to stand at his side, Voldemort addressed his followers. "On this, night, Shadow has chosen to present to me an extraordinary gift. He has agreed to become my Consort!"

Shadow was grinning in delight as the crowd cheered and his friends surged forward to give him their congratulations. He knew that this evening would hold a treasured place in his memory; after all, he was now in every way the Dark Lord's Shadow.

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A/N: I've been working on this story for months because it refused to be finished. Which was frustrating considering that the ending is what inspired this entire fic. At some point I may write a continuation/prequel because there is a bunch of stuff I wanted to add but couldn't manage without messing up the flow of story, but it probably will not be happening soon.

For those of you who want confirmation, yes, Shadow is Harry.


End file.
